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Man pleads not guilty in alleged assault

LOWELL -- Prosecutors allege Allan Pratt was drunk, naked and passed out on the living-room couch when his girlfriend came home and the pair began to argue.

As the argument on April 2 in their 46 Mt. Washington St. apartment escalated, Lowell police allege Pratt pushed the victim and then began to choke her with a phone cord. She escaped and called police.

In Lowell District Court, Pratt, 33, of Lowell, pleaded not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and intimidation of a witness.

While prosecutor Christine Maltby asked that Pratt be held on $1,000 cash bail and be prohibited from using alcohol, defense attorney Sonya Brown, who represents Pratt, said the victim "wants him home.''

Brown said Pratt and the victim have been together for a long time and have two children together. Brown said Pratt works at a Department of Mental Health facility in Chelmsford and a group home in Tewksbury.

Brown said the victim wants Pratt to get help with his alcohol abuse and for both of them to return to counseling.

Despite the prosecutor's request for bail, Judge Laurence Pierce released Pratt on his personal recognizance on the conditions that he not consume any alcohol and submit to random alcohol screenings.

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